After deciding to leave the capital literally upon waking up this morning, I was off to find a bus north to Vang Vieng. I realized I'd have to hit Vientiane again heading south and made sense to leave things to do there for the 2nd stay. I was really excited about Vang Vieng having seen pictures of the people floating down the river on inner tubes for hours pulling to the shore only for another beer.... I couldn't wait. So I was off to the bus station where I planned to take a 5 hour bus there, however I was talked into taking the minibus bus a tout at the station. Taking only 3 hours it ws double the cost but much shorter and in the toyota 4 row minivan. The ride was interesting with 5 different languages being spoken between the 12 people in the van. I listened to a Japenese man talk about what  dolphin and whale tasted like lol. The ride on the only semi-paved roads into the mountains was horrible, swaying back and forth I was dizzy in no time. Luckily the 3 hours went by fast and I was arriving at my destination in what felt like only an hour. The drop off for the van was in front of a very nice resort like set up with dozens of bungalows facing the river and mountains. I was hooked into staying, hence exactly why this is the drop off. I took the more expensive bungalow for the view even though I should start cheaping out for a while. But it just was such a nice room with the greatest view.

      Having settled into my room, I walked down to the river and took some amazing photo's before sitting and taking it all in. It was truly great.  After a while by the river I wanted to get my feel of the town so I walked around for an hour or two, over the bridge that leads into the mountains, and got a serious feel of what I was going to do in the next few days. Having arrived late I wasn't tubing today, but the stunning scenery is an attraction that could take up an entire day. The photo's below are from right in front of room except for one:

     After getting a feel of the town, walking past dozens of places to eat all playing Bob Marley and every TV had on re-runs of friends.... If it wasn't for all the heavy drinking in them I'd be in heaven. But not for me.... The scene in town thought is of little convern, since my guesthouse in a 10 minute walk into town. I'm pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Back over the bridge I went back to the room to eat dinner and get some R & R before going out to find an internet cafe... which I did. :-P The interesting site of the day was definatley the bombs lining the bridge. I know Laos has been bombed more than any other country, but when you start decorating with them you have waayy to many.

     Tomorrow am going to be floating down the river for a few hours! So excited. Taking it slow here, I think I'll be staying for 3 days or so.....

( The photo galleries for Laos will probably be a work in serious progress due to the lack of internet in rural laos. Just putting the photo's on this blog cost me $3 because of the time it takes here.... )

       It's official. At just about 9:20am I did my first overland border crossing into laos across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. Walking through the Thai immagration booth, I watch my passport be stamped out of Thailand, and directed across the bridge to enter Laos. It's funny being technically "nowhere" for about 5 minutes. On the bridge I'm neither in Thailand or Laos. I've been stamped out of Thailand but not yet into Laos. Maybe I have a dry sense of humor. Anyhow across the bridge I reached Lao customs where getting a visa was really as simple as filling out a small form and handing my passport, a picture, and $36 through the window. Try getting into America that way. Having been stamped into Lao PDR ( People's Democratic Republic ) and a very cool looking Lao visa in my passport, I was off to the capital, Vientiane. I looked around for a guesthouse for a while but having found nothing to my liking I settled for the place listed on travelfish as the best bet. The room was very nice but wasn't in it longer than dropping my bag in it. I was in Laos, and it was time to explore..... Vientiane is quite an amazing place. The capital city of an entire country, yet it's not a city in my book. It has the look and feel of a large town or village. Trees line every sidewalk in large numbers, fields outnumber buildings, no skyscrapers or even buildings higher than 3 floors for the most part. Vientiane is a perfect mix of new and old.... Paved roads only in the center of town, all other roads are rocky as hell and dirt. Lao flags sit along side there communist flag on nearly every home, quite nice actually the look of it. I'm already in love with Laos.... Riding around seeing the Thai side of the mekong river, there's something amazing about being on the side I was staring at for so long.....

       After a quick breakfast at a great place with a english menu, I bartered hard for almost 5 minutes with a tuk tuk driver and cut the fare nearly in half from 200.000 kip down to 120,000 kip. Yes it's incredibly amusing dealing with a place that the smallest bill is 1000 kip and a US dollar is equal to 8,490 kip. :-) I had my driver for the day, and was off to Xiang Khouak. Turns out the amazing statues I saw yesterday was actually the master piece of a Lao artist who fled to Thailand after communism to continue his art. I was no on my way to see his first sculpture garden on the Lao side of the river. Once again, this guys stuff kicks some serious ass. This place had a cave that you could get to the top off and view the entire park! The inside is incredibly small and even my skinny body had a hard time making it through the narrow openings... finally reaching the top I took a photo through the last opening....

      After soaking up more of Asia's greatest statue's, I was off to That Luang and the  Patouxai, Two amazing structures right next door to each other but couldn't be more different. The golden temple that is That Luang is quite impressive, although the act that you can't enter leaves much to be desired, However the massive amount of glimmering gold on the outside is surely still enough to impress....

     Soon after, at the arch de triumph of Thailand called the Patouxai, I found here what my just top more than half of Thailand by its sheer perfect placement of architecture and the park around it.  Here I found a truly remarkable structure, and one that I was allowed to go on the roof of at that. The view from the top was nice, and you really see just how much of a town feel this place has outside the few center blocks... Nothing but tree's and small houses for miles....

     Leaving my wonderful arch, I head back to town to eat and enjoy the atmosphere of one of the many cafe's by the river...... Not sure how long I'll be here as the capital is a little expensive but it's worth it.... The main thing that's hard is getting used to a new money system! I was so comfortable with baht I could instantly know what the price was in dollars when told in baht. Now it's like that will be 89,000 kip,,, What? lol Takes a bit to get used to but so did baht... Guess I'll have to make up for my overspending here by being cheap later....

     Although this actually takes place directly after the post below, it is so spectacular it needed it's own! Wat Sala Kaew Ku stunned me right of the bat as driving down the road in the distance were towering statues that dwarfed even the tallest tree's in the area. Stepping out of the tuk tuk and making sure the driver was going to stick around, I was off to the entrance. After a small 20 baht entrance fee, I was inside the grandest place I've seen in this part of Thailand. Lush green gardens covering all the land that isn't covered by the incredible statues that are tall enough to make the people next to them look like ants. Equally amazing, was my being approached by some local monks who were testing there english skills on me during there visit here. They were very friendly and it was quite a nice. Seeing them next to the first statue to see inside is breathtaking....

      Continuing through the maze of statue's, I couldn't help but feel in some serious awe. Having just hours ago started to feel like I couldn't be impressed anymore, the reality hit hard here I was brought right back down to reality. This place was miraculous. The mixture of Buddhist and Hindu statue's mixed in the garden created a most mesmerizing atmosphere. I found myself feeling smaller and smaller as I made my way through, easily started to forget which ones I'd already seen. Surrounded in every direction by mass amounts of concrete, every direction equally as grand, getting lost in the moment here is inevitable. I was taking photo's left and right trying not to miss anything. Even the smaller eye level piece's could have your jaw dropping.....

      While walking the grounds I ran into the people I had met on the boat the night before and spent the rest of the time there with them chatting about the glory of the place. After about an hour and a half here and still not sure if I saw everything, we decided to head out as the sun got the better of us. Probably a good idea because the guy waiting to drive me back was probably getting a little restless and paid or not, driving off wasn't far from his mind most likely. Driving away I tried to get the last picture of the largest piece that I saw when coming in. Having to be far enough away and going over bumps in the back of a vehicle, I somehow managed to get the picture. Be it with a portion of a bus showing, but that will be cut out later :-P A fitting one to end the place indeed....

      Having changed my mind again, I'm skipping the river kwai festival and heading for Laos in the morning.... I just have no desire to go through 2 twelve hour overnight trains, one there and one back to see a festival. Too much backtracking. So a new country begins tomorrow. Laos!


( Please check the Wat Sala Kaew Ku photo gallery to really appreciate this wonderful place! )

      Awoke about 8am this morning, and slowly got myself together before heading out in search of a place to eat along one of the many riverside restaurants. Leaving the room, I found myself wondering aimlessly up and the entire riverwalk before reaching the end not chosing any of the dozens of places I passed along the way. It turned out to be a rather good thing because at the end was a truly nice temple with a rather large buddha on the rooftop. Upon seeing it, I noticed that I wasn't nearly in as much marvel as I should be at such a nice piece. The truth is I realized was that I was getting spoiled by all the wondrous things I had seen lately. This just wasn't doing it lol. Nevertheless, it was something I enjoyed seeing.

      Walking back along the river, I made it all the way back to my guesthouse before choosing a place just past it in the opposite direction. Oh well. The place was pretty full with about 5 or 6 older men from what sounded like Germany. Most likely ex-pats who chose to retire here, they usually know the best spots so I was confident it was a good place. The view was quite nice and after slowly eating and taking in the surroundings I snapped away at the riverside.

      Heading back to my room to use the PC for a while, I did so for about an hour before wondering back out to search for something to do for the day and explore Nong khai's streets. After a while of walking around with no luck and a quick lunch, I decided to try a temple I'd heard about that contained a "garden" and went about hiring a tuk tuk to get me there. What I received was one of the greatest places I've reached in the journey so far....

      I have no idea why I keep going on these long bus rides without preparing first. When I'm thinking right I stock up on drinks and food for the long drive, but waking up at 7am seems to always have me forgetting. Bus left for Nong Khai at 8:30am and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to eat until 4:30pm which would have sucked. Luckily the driver got a little restless and we stopped in a small town for a hour and I was able to eat at a noodle shop on the street. After another 3 hours the bus finally pulled into Nong Khai and before the bus even stops it is literally assaulted by tuk tuk drivers trying to be the first thing anyone sees when they step off the bus. Overkill really, and I brushed a few off and sat down for a second before getting one anyway but on more relaxed terms. He seemed pretty intent on taking me to a brothel which I found very amusing, but soon enough I arrived at Ruan Thia Guesthouse where I'd be spending the night. I'm going to be taking an overnight train tomorrow to kanchanaburi so I needed to extend my 11am checkout time which they did by charging me half price for the next day which allows me a 6pm checkout which seemed very nice. After settling in I was out to Mut Mee's where I had heard they do sunset boat trips along the Mekong river to watch the sun go down over the bridge to laos. Here I'll let the pictures tell the next 5 minutes of the story:

       Breathtaking orange glow lit up everything from the water to the bridge. While there was to much cloud cover to see the sun, the clouds really made the colors come out which was lovely. After taking pictures and video, I sat back down to my table on the bottom deck of the boat and enjoyed my stir fry and a beer. I was approached by a woman asking some curiosity questions like where I was from etc, and they came over and joined my table. There was a man who happened to be from Boston with them and we started chatting for the remainder of the trip. Turns out they were all teaching English not to far away at a school for small children and gave me the info in case I ever wanted to extend a vacation and pick up some money. No degree required here and also looks past whether you have a work visa or not. Definitely a place to keep the info on for the future. Turned around for one last look before preparing to debark my lovely little boat.

      After docking back on the shore, I said my goodbyes and was invited to join for a few beers later which I gave a maybe too. I was considering it and actually maybe will for a change. But for now it's back to the guesthouse for the night. Have to do my exploring tomorrow since I arrived so late. Very happy I made it in time to get the boat ride in tonight......

      Woke up pretty late as planned, then spent the morning having breakfast at a shop along the river consisting of a shrimp and fried rice deal. Sitting along the river is peaceful enough to take up a lot of time sitting, now and then reaching or my guide book to read over some things and help plan for the next day. Absolutely doing nothing more than that today and that's exactly the plan. Possibly going the post office as I heard they might have an oversea's calling place and might be worth a shot. Maybe i'll do so more bird watching along the river like I did for a little bit yesterday... Watching a nest being made by making hundreds of trips back and forth one or two sticks at a time is quite amazing to see.

      Getting ready for the long 6 hour bus ride to Nong khai in the morning. Decided that even though I've wanted to head into Laos since Muk, I'm going to head back for the festival and get some things I need there two. It hasn't even been a month so there's really no excuse to leave Thailand yet. So river kwai festival it is after Nong khai....

     
      Nighty market video is up, very much worth a look. Does the market far more justice than any picture could. National Park video is now up also. Shows a loading screen for some reason but just press play and will work. :-P

      In Nakhon Phanom after my first long distance Songtheaw trip. I was waiting for the bus on the side of the road bright and early, and when asking someone if I was waiting at the correct place he pointed at the songtheaw. I figured it couldn't hurt to try so I got in the back of the pick-up truck and was off. There amazingly cheap however can get jam packed with up to 15 people and isn't all that worth it. The scenery was great though and with the ride only being an hour it was a great expeirence. Upon getting to Nakhon, I really had no idea where the center was and since no one tells you when your at your stop its up to you to figure it out. I over shot by about a mile so ended up grabbing a 2 minute tuk tuk ride straight to the hotel ront door. Yes hotel, there are no guesthouse's here and this place see's near zero foreign visitor's overnight. Most only pop in to cross into laos across the river. So the hotel's that usually house thai businessman traveling are my only options. Funny part is it's still just 350 baht and basically the same as some of the nicer guesthouse room's, just more of a hotel "feel".

       Just after settling in I decided to Take a walk down the river and although I'd been a little unimpressed by the views in that phanom, the scenery here across the river was the best along the border yet. I walked up and down for a while watching the ferries take passenger's from Thailand to Laos go back and forth, each with there respective flags raised.... Quite a nice thing to watch for some reason. It has a similar feel to watching planes land as a child, although slightly less thrill of coarse.

      Further along the river I passed maybe a half dozen gigantic temples and it still amuzes me the sheer money that must go into these structures in such poor places....

      I walked far too long and before I realized it I was at the end of the riverwalk with no type of transport in sight. Exhausted I headed into a gas station and since they had a 7/11, of coarse, I got some shade in there and some water. Then it was what felt like a 10 mile walk back to the room for some R & R. I already paid for the 2 nights here and could use a day staying inside and just watching a movie giving my feet a break, but there isn't anything else to do here besides people watch and the river. If I wasn't tired I'd be moving on tonight... Tomorrow day off then onto Nong Khai the next day. Not sure whether I'm going to enter Laos there or go back for the River Kwai festival.... Probably won't until the time comes. We'll see.

(  Quick note also, Internet is harder to find out here in rural thailand so might be a little bit before I can get the photo galleries of the past few places up.... Getting the pics for the blog up is hard enough :-P )

     After only a 45 minute bus ride which was refreshingly short, I was here in That Phanom. Quite simply the smallest town I've ever been in, consisting only of an area 3 blocks wide and maybe 12 blocks all. Finding a place to stay was easy, there was only one available option. By far the most dreary room I've been in since I've been spoiled by accomadation options. But for $3, what do you expect? 

     The people here are among the friendliest I've come across, I wasn't walking the river more than 5 minutes before someone who a little english approached and we got to talking. I ended up eating breakfast at his small food stand, chatting away before continuing down river checking out some more views of laos. I have this urge to just swim across it.... Probably a very bad idea.

     Before long I was head to what is the only attraction in That Phanom, a temple by the same name, Wat Phra That Phanom. Easily the most impressive I've seen with gold overlay on a huge white gleaming chedi. There were quite a few buddha images inside worth a look, but the sheer awe factor of the chedi is the real attraction here.

     After the temple on my way back to my first homestay, I walked relatively the entire town and just upon hitting the edge I noticed something gold out of the corner of my eye. Just down a dead end dirt road, a new temple was being built with what was probably a buddha bigger than any other I've seen. Very out of place in such a tiny place to devote so much money to these over the top temples....

     Later in the afternoon while walking aroung hopelessly trying to find the towns only source of the internet, I stumbled upon a sign outside that read in english "Barber". I went over and peeked inside and sure enough there was a man cutting away of someone's head. This was perfect. My hair was getting way too long and this is the last place expected to be able to get it done. So when the previous customer finished I sat down and there was no verbal communication that we could make, so I simply pointed to his Sweeney Todd style barber's razor and made a motion over my head. He smiled acknoledgeing he understood I wanted it all gone, and we were away. In the chair I took in the surroundings of the place, a normal barbershop, you know dozens of pictures of naked Thai women all over the walls.. lol It was an interesting place indeed. But it got the job done for 50 baht. I'm bald again!

      After dark I my usually trip the night market like I usually do in each town, and although it was rather small, much like the town, there nontheless were some more interesting things to try food wise. Didn't really stay long and was back at the guesthouse in no time. Not to long after getting back I was approached by a Thai man named Money who invited me to watch a football (soccer) game on there very old probably 9 inch TV. I accepted even though I had no real interest in it, in proved a good way to socialize for the night until heading off to bed a few hours later. It's funny when thai names are translated into english you realize most are named after objects. I met two children each named bank last week... Go figure.

      Going to Nahkon Phanom in the morning for a few days whether its tiny or not. Too much moving around lately.....

      So I was planning on trying out the nightlife here and going and having a few drinks at a recommended bar, but every time I try I just end up changing my mind since it's not really my scene. So tonight I decided on checking out the local night market here. I'd been to a few other night markets, but the one here is miles above the rest. More people than I'd seen in my entire stay here show up in full force to buy and sell in these wonderful open air night markets.

      I was there for about 15 minutes when I found myself wanting to take the pictures, so I got a tuk tuk back to my room and told him to stay outside and that I'd be right back. I then drove back to the market giving him probably the quickest money he's ever gotten as a driver. Taking photo's, I stopped along the many food stands and probably tried 5 different meals for under $3, plus the pineapple and asian pear.....  On my way out I decided to video my walk by letting the camera hang naturally around my neck...